POETRY OF RESISTANCE TO SB1070
POETRY OF RESISTANCE TO SB 1070 BY MARIA S. AQUINO Olivia galvan more pics.png Odilia galvan rodriguez pic.jpg RaulSanchez.jpg Francisco alarcon pics 3.jpg Alracon as poet.jpg Matt-sedillo-sm.jpg Carmen calatayud more pics.jpg Carmen calatayud pic.jpg Poets Responding to SB 1070: Odilia Galvan -Rodriguez, Francisco Alarcon, Carmen Calatayud, Raul Sanchez, and Matt Sedillo. WHAT ABOUT SB 1070? Considered the broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration measure in recent U.S. history at the time of its passage in 2010, SB 1070 has received national and international attention and has spurred considerable controversy. In the literary world, staunch opponents of the law include writers and poets who have published their pieces on a Facebook page called Poets''' '''Responding to SB 1070. POETS RESPONDING TO SB 1070 Francisco Alarcon is one of the proponents of this collective effort. Some of his poems are: “Breaking News! Mexican Food Now Banned in Arizona,” “Poet at the Gate of the New Cactus Curtain,” “Poetic Manifesto,” “Whale Songs,” and “This Poem.” Poet at the Gate of the New Cactus Curtain the Capitol Nine forced open these closed doors for the whole world! beware! walls crumble! nothing can really stop an awaken people who are el alma la raíz y el corazón de esta linda tierra! Matt Sedillo is a two-time national slam poet, grand slam champion of the Damn Slam (Los Angeles, 2011) and author of For What I Might Do Tomorrow. Some of his most profound poems are “SB1070 Poem,” and “Borders.” SB1070 Poem '' And despite the Mexican repatriation act Operation wetback prop 187 SB1070 We haven’t and we aren’t going anywhere And yes we are human And none of us are perfect Yes sometimes we cause problems Yes sometimes we get drunk But we endure And we fight And fuck And we breed/ Until the day when being undocumented / Well that, that’s just as American '''Raúl Sánchez serves as a moderator for the Poets Responding to SB 1070 facebook page. Some of his most remarkable poems include “Homeland Security,” “What Does a Mexican Look Like?” “All Our Brown-Skinned Angels,” and “I Wish My Book was Banned!” '''''Twelve Step Recommendations for Republicans 1.- Remove the wool off your eyes 2.- Educate yourselves, learn a little History. 3.- Stop ignoring Latinos. 4.- Appreciate Diversity. 5.- Stop threatening Mexicans. 6.- Appreciate our contribution to our society, this country, our country 7.- Realize that the Latino culture has already influenced your lives. 8.- Latinos are your neighbors, you just don’t see them because they are invisible. 9.- Not all Latinos are criminals. 10.- You already eat and drink the same foods and drinks we do. 11.- Get a grip, the border was not always there. 12.- Stop thinking of us as moochers, we are here to give and contribute. Odilia Galvan Rodriguez is a moderator and one of the founding members of Poets Responding to SB 1070. Three poetry books she has written are: Crossroads: Poems, Platica y Paraisos , Migratory Birds: New and Noted Poems , and Ponies, Dreams and an Occasional Goddess. bridges v. borders in another world a border would be a bridge crossing an answer poem 8 – wounds '' she was born from a wound into a wounded world wedged into a space so small where all her people did not fit rendered non-people or nondescript mere farm implements or other such tools where the dollar and cruel power ruled no kindness for her kind just more of the same wounds... '''Carmen Calatayud is another poet moderator for Poets Responding to SB 1070. Other poems include: Por Favor Escuchame, and Commitment Otra Vez. '''''Border Ghost of Sonora In this corner of the desert, she has already died. I pick up her broken mask, promise to glue it together again. My mother roams the border she floats between the countries she thought would share her heart. My pillow saves the dreams the dead have weaved, banking on milagros. All five poems convey the same message- that Hispanics should not be discriminated against; that they should be respected as human beings who have the same rights and liberties as any legal citizen in the United States. Importance of this subject: It brings the world’s consciousness to the current political situation that immigrants- Latinos, Asians, and other nationalities, are facing in Arizona, and possibly in some other states in the future. How has this changed our understanding of poetry? “With over 4,700 members, 900 posted poems, and more than 500,000 visits to date, Poets Responding to SB1070 has redefined the role of digital poetry and of poets in society.” It has transformed the world’s perception of the law and the Hispanic people in general. Based on this statistics, poetry has proven to us that it has the ability to affect us not only on the personal level. It has the power to make us think more critically of our laws and our lawmakers, and reevaluate our own social and political beliefs. POETRY OF RESISTANCE TO SB 1070 by Maria S. Aquino